WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/N/USA/1724 
22 October 2007  
 (07-4555) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English 
  
 
NOTIFICATION OF EMERGENCY MEASURES  
 
1. Member to Agreement notifying:   UNITED STATES
 
If applicable, name of local government involved:    
2. Agency responsible:   Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the US Department 
of Agriculture (USDA-APHIS) 
3. Products covered (provide tariff item number(s) as specified in national schedules 
deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers should be provided in addition, where 
applicable):  Pork and pork products 
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or practicable :  
Georgia  
5. Title, language and number of pages of the notified document:  Add Georgia to the List 
of Regions where African Swine Fever ex ists (available in English, 2 pages)  
6. Description of content:  The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is amending 
their regulations concerning the importation of animals and animal products by adding 
Georgia to the list of regions where African sw ine fever exists. APHIS is taking this action 
because outbreaks of African swine fever have  been confirmed in various locations 
throughout Georgia. This action will restrict the importation of pork and pork products into 
the United States from Georgia and is necessary to prevent the introduction of African 
swine fever into the United States. 
7. Objective and rationale:  [   ] food safety, [ X ] animal health, [   ] plant protection, [  
 ] protect humans from animal/plant pest or disease, [   ] protect territory from other damage from pests    
8. Nature of the urgent problem(s) and reason for urgent action:  The regulations in 
9 CFR part 94 govern the importation of specifi ed animals and animal products to prevent 
the introduction into the United States of various animal diseases, including rinderpest, foot-and-mouth disease, bovine spongiform en cephalopathy, swine vesicular disease, 
classical swine fever, and African swine fever (ASF).  These are dangerous and destructive 
communicable diseases of ruminants and swine. Section 94.8 of the regulations lists regions of the world where ASF exists or is reasonably believed to exist and imposes 
restrictions on the importation of pork and pork products into the United States from those 
regions. 
On 5 June 2007, Georgia reported to the Wo rld Organization for Animal Health (OIE) 11 
outbreaks of ASF in various areas throughout the country.  The source of the outbreak is unknown. Therefore, in order to prevent the introduction of ASF into the United States, 
APHIS is amending the regulations by adding Ge orgia to the list of regions in Sec. 94.8 
where ASF exists or is reasonably believed to  exist. As a result of this action, the G/SPS/N/USA/1724 
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  importation into the United States of pork or por k products from Georgia will be restricted.  
APHIS is imposing this restriction retroactiv ely to 5 June 2007, which is when the presence 
of ASF in Georgia was confirmed. 
Emergency Action This rulemaking is necessary on an emergenc y basis to prevent the introduction of ASF 
into the United States.  Under these circumstan ces, the Administrator of the Animal and 
Plant Health Inspection Service has determined  that prior notice and opportunity for public 
comments are contrary to the public interest and that there is good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553 for making this rule effective less than 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. 
APHIS will consider comments received during the comment period for this interim rule.  
After the comment period closes, APHIS w ill publish another document in the Federal 
Register. The document will include a discussi on of any comments they receive and any 
amendments they are making to the rule.  This interim rule has been reviewed under 
Executive Order 12866. For this action, the O ffice of Management and Budget has waived 
its review under Executive Order 12866.  This interim rule amends the regulations by 
adding Georgia to the list of regions in wh ich ASF exists. This action is necessary on an 
emergency basis to prevent the introd uction of ASF into the United States. 
The rule will restrict the importation of pork an d pork products from Georgia.  Georgia is a 
net importer of swine and swine products.  The country's exports of por k products represent 
less than 0.1 percent of the world export of these products. The United States, Canada, and 
Mexico did not import any pork or pork pr oducts from Georgia during the period of 
January 2006 through March 2007.  Since no po rk or pork products have been imported 
into the United States from Georgia during this time period, it is unlikely that this interim 
rule will have any substantial effects on trade,  or on large or small businesses.  Under these 
circumstances, the Administrator of the Anim al and Plant Health Inspection Service has 
determined that this action will not have a significant economic im pact on a substantial 
number of small entities. 
9. International standard, guideline or recommendation:  
[   ] Codex Alimentarius Commission, [   ] World Organization for Animal Health 
(OIE), [   ] International Plant Protection Convention, [ X ] None  
If an international standard, guideline or recommendation exists, give the 
appropriate reference and briefly identify deviations:    
10. Relevant documents and language(s ) in which these are available:   Federal Register:  
18 September 2007 (Volume 72, Nu mber 180), Page 53101-53102.  
http://www.regulations.gov . 
Available at Federal Register on-line via GPO Access website: 
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html  
Enter page # under "Quick Search" and link to relevant document. 
11. Date of entry into force/period of application (as applicable):  This regulation is 
effective retroactively to 5 June 2007.  G/SPS/N/USA/1724 
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  12. Agency or authority designated to handle comments: [   ] National notification 
authority, [   ] National enquiry point, or address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body:  
Submit written or electronic comments by any of the following methods:  
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.re gulations.gov Follow the instructions 
for submitting comments. 
• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, 
APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road  Unit 118, Riverdale, MD  20737-1238 
Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name and Docket Number 
APHIS-2006-0121 for this rulemaking.  
For further information contact: Mr. Javier Vargas, Animal Scientist, Regionalization 
Evaluation Services Staff, National Center for Import and Export, VS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 38, Riverdale, MD 20737-1231; (301) 734-0756 
13. Texts available from: [ X ] National notification authority, [   ] National enquiry point, 
or address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body:  
United States SPS National Notification Authority, USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, 
International Regulations and Standards Division (IRSD), Stop 1027, Washington D.C. 
20250;  Tel:  +(1 202) 720-1301;  Fax:  +(1 202) 690-0677;  E-mail:  us.spsenquirypoint@fas.usda.gov